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Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 12:55 pm
by flipflip
Hello
If i understand it correctly
https://www.swisstopo.admin.ch/en/swiss ... odata.html says that we can use Swisstopo maps in Alpine Quest officially and legally from 31.03.2021:
"[...] from 1 March 2021, swisstopo's standard digital products will be available online free of charge."
The FAQ on that page explicitly says that commercial use is free and no authorisation will be required. All they request is that the source of the maps is indicated.
It was always possible to use the maps with a custom .AQX file anyway, but now we can use them more easily and perhaps they can be included in Alpine Quest by default.
I'm more than happy to post my .AQX file here on March 1st.
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021 (?)
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:29 pm
by Psyberia-Support
Hi,
Thank you for the link. Yes this is what I do understand too.
Note that only the data will be available free of charge, so it means that we may need to process it and host it for use in AQ (i.e. direct access to the swisstopo portail infrastructure may still not be authorized).
But this is a very good news and I'll be more that happy to make those maps easily available from the app...
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021 (?)
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:40 pm
by flipflip
Hmm. Why do you think that? The (draft of) the legal text (German) explicitly mentions use of the _service(s)_ as one of the free things. I'll ask in the mailinglist.
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021 (?)
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:51 pm
by Psyberia-Support
This is what I understood from this FAQ question:
What criteria are used to select the data supplied by swisstopo free of charge?
The data offered free of charge is that which can be acquired online independently or automatically by users via the Internet and which therefore does not require any effort on the part of swisstopo (= standard digital products). During the first step, the most popular standard digital products are available for online acquisition. In future, however, the service could be expanded to include other federal geodata that are the responsibility of swisstopo.
(as maintaining the swisstopo portail is an effort).
However after further reading it seems that the map server will be available free of charge too, so this is very good!
What does “free of charge” mean exactly? Are there any additional processing fees?
Free means without costs or fees for the standard digital products. These can be downloaded free of charge from the Internet by users without additional processing.
For geodata:
Free of charge means that no fee is charged for the use of the data. It is also free if the user downloads the data from the Internet him or herself. However, if the data must be prepared and sent by a swisstopo employee, a fee is charged for the preparation of the data. From 1 March 2021 onwards, not all swisstopo geodata will be available for self-download. The number of datasets will be gradually expanded.
For geoservices:
swisstopo geodata are integrated into the various geoservices of the Federal Geoinformation Infrastructure. These services can be used free of charge and without registration. For the use of service-based data via the geoservices, a maximum number of requests per time unit is set as a usage limit. Within this limit, the use of the data services is free of charge. The usage limit is to be observed as far as possible ("fair use").
If the specified number of requests per time unit is repeatedly exceeded, swisstopo may conclude a contract with the data user for a higher number of requests. This use is then subject to a charge.
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021 (?)
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:02 pm
by flipflip
Yes, one could read the "require any effort" part like that. But I think they mean "additional" or "manual" effort, such as non-standard products from their database, converting to some GIS formats, transformations into other systems and such. Let's see what they say in the mailing list.
I wonder though how they would identify app users with high number of requests. I think there were mentions of dynamic rate limiting in the mailing lists or github issues when some (authorized) user's scripts didn't behave..
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021 (?)
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:08 pm
by Psyberia-Support
Number of requests are usually based on the user IP or user agent.
But if this proves to be a problem, we could easily setup a CDN or a full copy on our servers to reduce the requests on the swisstopo servers.
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021 (?)
Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:00 pm
by flipflip
They say (
https://groups.google.com/g/geoadmin-api/c/AVIrFTAVBEs):
They can use the free wmts.geo.admin.ch
„Fair use“ will apply —- details will communicated at ogd go live
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2021 2:50 pm
by flipflip
So since we're a weekend before the maps become free (
https://www.swisstopo.admin.ch/en/swiss ... odata.html), I though I can post my map definition file with my favourite layers here:
However, DO NOT download or use it before 01.03.2021. You have been warned.
See the comments in the .AQX file for details.
Happy hiking!
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021 (?)
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2021 10:13 am
by Psyberia-Support
Thank you for sharing
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021 (?)
Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 9:03 am
by flipflip
The exact terms of use are now online:
https://www.geo.admin.ch/en/geo-service ... f-use.html
E.g. the fair use limits:
Web Map Tile Service WMTS-BGDI wmts.geo.admin.ch 600 requests / minute
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021 (?)
Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 1:54 pm
by flipflip
One small bugfix for the "Swissimage (Mosaik)" layer (max zoom 20, not 21):
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021 (?)
Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 9:38 pm
by Psyberia-Support
For information, the Swisstopo maps have been added in
the community maps list.
However, you'll find more maps in flipflip's AQX file.
Re: Swisstopo maps free from 01.03.2021
Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2021 4:56 pm
by flipflip
Awesome. Thanks.
However, how could anyone not want the gravimetry maps..